The 35th Annual Hunger Games
by HongIce123
Summary: Before any talk of rebellion, there were seventy-four Hunger Games. Here's one of them. Multiple POV. Warning: strong language, dark themes and casual violence.
1. Chp 1: Sixty Second Prelude

**Author's Note: Hello, I'd just like to layout a few things regarding this fanfic. The entire story will be multiple POV style. I may add more POV characters as the story goes on. The story takes place in the canon (not an AU). However, I don't plan on bringing in any canon characters. Hope you enjoy it!**

Xi'an, 13 (D9f)

As soon as the launch pad had locked into position, Xi'an started analyzing her surroundings.

The Cornucopia had a fair balance of supplies and weapons, most being bladed, but almost everything was in the mouth, meaning a hundred-meter dash if she wanted any sort of material aid. The arena itself was relatively basic. It possessed a lake, some woods and a few mountains in the distance. The rest was an open field. As for the tributes, the ones closest to her were all bigger, if brutish in her opinion.

By the time she had finished her observations, the timer was half out. She contemplated making a break for a handsome pack containing preservatives, water and a blanket, but decided against it. The arena was hot and green enough to negate those supplies. Surely she could just steal from another tribute.

She turned around for a moment and saw a sizable forest a scant twenty meters from her. She could definitely make it into the woods before anyone could get a weapon.

Her plan was set.

Sylven, 18 (D4m)

Sylven was enamored. He had scored a ten in training (tied for first), had worked the audience with his interview, and had formed an alliance with the tributes from districts two and four, as well as the male from district one. He couldn't have asked for a better pre-game.

And he couldn't have asked for a better cornucopia. Despite being from district four, he had always had an affinity for daggers, and, low and behold, there was a handsome set of that very weapon in the centerpiece.

Most of the other tributes (sans the careers, of course) were scrawny and malnourished. It only made sense to go in. He could probably pick off some threats (that girl from district eight rubbed him the wrong way).

A deep, booming voice started counting down from ten. Sylven smirked as he got into a running stance. To his delight, most of the others looked confused.

He was so winning these games.

Tatianna, 13 (D1f)

Tatianna wanted to collapse on her launch pad and cry. She was not supposed to be here. Someone was supposed to volunteer. She was only twelve.

Twelve, twelve, twelve. Wouldn't it be riveting? To watch a twelve-year-old from a career district fight for her life? And what if that twelve-year-old was the daughter of the most unpopular mayor in district history?

What fun the denizens of the Capitol must be having.

She was facing the back of the cornucopia, so supplies were out of the question. And the other careers had ignored her, so she had no allies. As for sponsors, she had broken down during the interviews, insulting the audience and the like. If the lack of sponsors didn't kill her, the game makers would. Anything for ratings!

Tatianna's snapped out of her thoughts when a deep, booming voice started counting down from ten. She began to panic. All of the other tributes (none of whom she recognized) were gearing up. A lump in her throat formed and she began to hyperventilate.

She ran blindly into the woods as the gong went off.

Logan, 14 (D6m)

Logan was admiring the topography of the arena when the voice started counting down from ten. Pulling his attention from the lake (he should try and swim later), he studied the supplies in the cornucopia. He decided to go for the red bag, since it was his favorite color.

He made a mental note to grab a blue one for Tatianna.

Blythe, 17 (D8f)

Blythe was worried. She knew that she was the strongest tribute after the Careers. She had one of the highest training scores, she had won the audience over with her interview and she had been cordial to the other tributes. No doubt the Careers would come for her first. And low and behold, two of them happened to be on either side of her.

The game makers were shady bitches.

However, she tried to find some sort of advantage in the remaining forty seconds before everyone started killing everyone. She knew that she, while not particularly burly, was fast. If she could outrun the two careers, (the two from district four) find some sort of throwing knife or spear before they did, she could actually take two of her competitors out before grabbing a supply pack and bolting. She doubted any of the others would actually go for the cornucopia. She calmed herself as a disembodied voice started counting down from ten.

Blythe was surviving these games.

Carmen, 16 (D2f)

Carmen had been formulating her strategy ever since she had begun her training at age five. She was to select a weapon (sword) and demonstrate it during her private session, so as to ensure its inclusion in the cornucopia. This takes priority over survival, as one can just live off the food from the cornucopia (even if there isn't food, she'd still be better off as a Career).

As for her fellow Careers, she should never assert herself as a leader. In all of the games she could remember, the leader of the Career Pack was almost always the first to go.

In contrast, she must not be seen as a weakling, lest she be targeted immediately after the leader. Best to remain stoic and mediocre.

She intended to follow this plan to the T. She intended.

Garten, 15 (D10m)

Where was Blythe? Garten was facing away from the Cornucopia's mouth and couldn't find her anywhere.

This was a bit of a problem, given that Garten was relying on her to help him win the games. His reasoning being that Garten knew that he wasn't the strongest tribute, or the fastest or the most cut-throat. He doubted his ability to make it out of the bloodbath alive.

However, Garten was incredibly guile. He had set out to find a tribute, other than a Career, that was exceptional in training (there was usually one or two, Garten had hypothesized that the game makers did this on purpose, not that he ever shared these opinions).

He had found this in Blythe, the girl from district eight. He had made her acquaintance quite quickly after the opening ceremonies. Despite him wearing a cow costume, he had been quite responsive to the audience.

"Hey, Garten is it?" Blythe had pulled him aside. He nodded in response. "How did you get the audience to cheer for you?" Blythe's stylist, in an effort to reflect the 'urban flavor' of district eight, had painted her in a brick pattern.

"I just waved at them really. I wouldn't worry about it though, training scores usually factor into whether or not they decide to sponsor you." Garten had almost immediately noticed Blythe's remarkably athletic physique and decided that he should work with her. "Your name's Blythe, right?"

"Yes," Blythe seemed visibly pleased that he had asked. "Well, nice talking to you."

"Yeah, your certainly more pleasant than the Careers," Garten noticed that Blythe had perked up a bit as she jogged back to her mentor.

From there on, Garten made an effort to get close to Blythe. He hung out with her at lunch and, in a calculated move, had her help him with the training stations. In return, he helped her out with her interview (the lone victor from district eight didn't talk, anyway).

They had made a pact afterwards to work together in the arena. Garten was a favorite with sponsors, Blythe could stab people to death. They balanced each other's skillset quite well.

Garten felt quite complacent with his odds.

Tributes' Status (bold text indicates POV)

D1m: Chartreuse, Alive. D1f: Tatianna, Alive.

D2m: Garnet, Alive. D2f: Carmen, Alive.

D3m: Jay, Alive. D3f: Courtney, Alive.

D4m: Sylven, Alive. D4f: Mariette, Alive.

D5m: Carter, Alive. D5f: Lee, Alive.

D6m: Logan, Alive. D6f: Sara, Alive.

D7m: Harry, Alive. D7f: Acadia, Alive.

D8m: Noah, Alive. D8f: Blythe, Alive.

D9m: Pete, Alive. D9f: Xi'an, Alive.

D10m: Garten, Alive. D10f: Shirley, Alive.

D11m: Vernon, Alive. D11f: Celia, Alive.

D12m: Marcus, Alive. D12f: Tara, Alive.

 **Author's Note: I apologize if I haven't sated anyone's taste for bloodshed. I can promise multiple deaths next chapter, so don't worry. Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated and applied. Also, and this is very important: keeping with the theme of manipulation in this story, I'm allowing you, the readers, to give suggestions regarding where the story should go next (which could very well change the victor's identity). Thanks!**


	2. Chp 2: At the Bloodbath

_Blythe, 17 (D8f)_

The sound of a gong went off. Blythe wasted no time and made a beeline for the cornucopia. Fortunately, she was one of the first to reach the cornucopia. She went inside and found a sword hilt buried underneath some blankets.

She yanked it out and wheeled around. A fair amount of tributes had arrived by now, but the Careers where nowhere in sight. She grabbed a few small packs and sprinted out of the cornucopia.

That was when a club was slammed into her side. She hit the ground, too shocked to do anything. The girl from four and the boy from two towered over her. The girl reached into her jacket and pulled out a knife. Blythe groped around, blindly, for her sword.

That's when a dirk was shoved straight through the girl's throat. She collapsed almost immediately, though Blythe noticed a look of shock on her face. Garten, the rather charismatic boy from district ten, had internally decapitated a career. Blythe grabbed her sword and turned to face the boy from one.

She turned to face where he was, anyway. In the period of time it took for the girl to die, he had run off.

Somewhat disappointed, Blythe turned to face a stunned Garten.

"Thanks," she breathed, still somewhat winded from the blow to her side. Garten merely nodded.

Blythe stood up and leaned on Garten, surveying the ongoing fights. The surviving Careers had already asserted their dominance, having made a perimeter around the cornucopia. A few tributes were already dead.

Blythe was considering taking on the careers when Garten tugged on her arm.

"We can't beat them. Let's go to the woods, it's probably safe there," Garten said, a tad unfocused. Blythe reluctantly complied, sensing that Garten wouldn't hold up well against the four Careers.

Blythe followed Garten into the woods, a tad dissatisfied.

 _Carmen, 16 (D4f)_

It was Carmen who had formulated the plan to defend the cornucopia. It had worked well, not only had they killed a decent amount of tributes, but most of the other survivors had also gotten essentially nothing.

However, the plan was not without its losses. After Carmen had slit the throat of the girl from district twelve, she noticed that Mariette had been killed.

That left her as the only female career. Well, except for that Tatianna girl. Carmen doubted that she would make it far. Though, Carmen thought that she had run away at the start of the games. It was a little sad, really. To see a thirteen-year-old from a career district was almost an insult to the tribute in question. And Carmen thought that, frankly, Tatianna didn't deserve to be insulted.

"Carmen, watch out!" Garnet, the boy from her district, threw a spear into the chest of the boy from district seven, who had been charging at her.

She shook her head and went back on the lookout for other tributes.

 _Logan, 14 (D6m)_

Logan had the worst luck sometimes. He had managed to reach the cornucopia before anyone, and find a pack for himself and Tati. However, the girl from district eight came barging in and he had to hide in a box.

By the time she left, he could hear the fighting from the outside and decided to keep hiding. It was a good twenty minutes before it stopped completely. He was about to make a break for it when the Careers, noisily, entered.

"How many are dead?"

"About six or seven, I think."

"Including Mariette? Damn, we're not off to a good start."

"Well there are only four of us."

"Ugh, don't get me started on that Tatianna girl."

"How did she even get picked?"

"Who cares? I say we get rid of her first."

"Um, why?"

"Have you seen her? She's a fucking insult to what a Career is!"

"Whatever, Sylven. If you want to go and murder an emotionally broken, innocent girl, that's fine. The rest of us will go and hunt actual threats." The voice was female. Logan recognized this as the girl from district two. Frankly, he was surprised that she had said anything at all.

The Careers went on, discussing how to divide up rations and the like. Logan didn't really pay attention. In fact, he dozed off.

A little while later, Logan woke to a commotion from just outside the Cornucopia. He heard a shout and an awful, guttural noise. A cannon went off in the distance.

"Fuck, I thought we were alone!" Logan's pulse spiked.

"That guy came from around the lake, I think. Let's check there." Logan heard the receding footsteps of the Careers.

He waited a few minutes, then slowly peeked his head out of the box. The Careers were nearby the lake, to what he estimated to be about several hundred meters away. He could see a fairly sized woods not far off from his vantage point. Not wasting a moment, Logan sprinted out of his box and into the woods.

He had to find Tatianna.

 _Garten 15, (D10m)_

Garten had killed someone. Garten had killed someone. Garten had killed someone. Garten had-

"I think we them. Garten?" Blythe had paused, surveying the area around them. Garten blinked a couple times.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? You seem like you're in a trance."

"Blythe, I killed her," Garten deadpanned. He was a bit disturbed how easily it rolled off his tongue.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Blythe replied sincerely. "What'd you get from the Cornucopia?"

Garten glanced down at the pack and knife in his hands. "I'll check."

He opened his pack and pulled out some canned fruits and vegetables, dried meat, some crackers and a blanket. "Food, mostly. You?"

"I got two water bottles, with water, a tent, some blankets, foodstuffs and a tarp."

"You win." Blythe laughed at the remark. In doing so, she looked up.

"Hey Garten, you want to set up camp? It's getting dark." Garten looked up as well. It had gotten dark in a very short amount of time. And cold too. Suddenly, he felt a sense of gratitude for the blankets he and Blythe had managed to grab.

"Sure, I'll take first watch." The two didn't talk much after that, instead they busied themselves with setting up the tent. They agreed to split the blankets up evenly. They also made sure to have their weapons on them at all times.

Garten climbed up to the lower branches of a nearby tree. Nothing much happened until the anthem started up.

"Blythe!" Garten hissed. She got out of the tent, groggy.

"Time to switch?" He hopped down to stand next to her: he didn't want to have to look at the montage alone.

"Look at the sky."

She looked up right as the tributes were shown. It was a relatively low count; only seven people died.

The boy from district three flashed onscreen, followed by the career Garten killed. Blythe held her hand out for a high five. Garten obliged, for the cameras.

The boys from five and seven followed. Shirley, Garten's district partner, was flashed next.

"I'm sorry, Garten." Blythe gave him a quick hug. He barely noticed.

The two from district twelve came on next and it was done. They were all gone, Garten reflected as he climbed back up to his perch.

And he had killed one of them.

Tributes' Status (Bold Text Indicates POV)

1m: Chartreuse, Alive. **D1f: Tatianna, Alive.**

D2m: Garnet, Alive. **D2f: Carmen, Alive.**

D3m: Jay, Dead. D3f: Courtney, Alive.

 **D4m: Sylven, Alive.** D4f: Mariette, Dead.

D5m: Carter, Dead. D5f: Lee, Alive.

 **D6m: Logan, Alive.** D6f: Sara, Alive.

D7m: Harry, Dead. D7f: Acadia, Alive.

D8m: Noah, Alive. **D8f: Blythe, Alive.**

D9m: Pete, Alive. **D9f: Xi'an, Alive.**

 **D10m: Garten, Alive.** D10f: Shirley, Dead.

D11m: Vernon, Alive. D11f: Celia, Alive.

D12m: Marcus, Dead. D12f: Tara, Dead.

 **Author's Note: I did promise death. Anyway, I hope y'all like the second chapter! And if any of you missed characters from the first chapter, don't worry. Xi'an, Tati and Sylven will be back soon. Well, soon as I get back to Singapore. I'd like to apologize if there's a bit of a delay in the posting schedule. I promise to get chapter three up in a week.**


	3. Chp 3: A Night of Allying

_Xi'an, 13 (D9f)_

Perhaps Xi'an had miscalculated. In her abandoning the cornucopia, she had neglected the fact that it's very cold at night.

She had climbed up into a tree to avoid being caught by another tribute. Unfortunately, she had no way to tie herself up, so she didn't fall to the ground.

Voices in the back of her mind began to creep up again.

'It's so cold tonight, what if you freeze into an icicle and fall to the ground and crack open?'

'What if a tribute climbs up here and your too cold to move?'

'You can't get warm.'

'You're going to die.'

'Why did you volunteer?' Xi'an stared straight ahead.

"I'd be executed otherwise," she breathed.

'It's pathetic to be a criminal.'

'And at thirteen, no less.'

'Such a sad existence.'

"I was starving!" She hissed.

'You had the tesserae.'

'You were weak.'

'And now your family's dead.'

"Fuck you!" She shouted.

"Who's there?" A voice, a young one, called out.

She put her hand over her mouth, petrified.

"I won't hurt you!" The voice exclaimed, earnestly. "I have some blankets, if you're cold."

Xi'an was starting to get painfully cold. And she needed food. And water. If the voice tried anything, she could probably overpower them.

She dropped down. Much to her relief, it was the boy from district six. Xi'an never remembered seeing him at a weapon station during training.

"Hi! You're Xi'an, right?" He had two packs. She could probably steal one later. She nodded in response.

"I'm Logan. Are you alright? You look cold. Here's a blanket." He handed her one. It was thick, thankfully. She hastily wrapped it around herself. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments.

"Sorry, I didn't get anything from the cornucopia," she said. She felt a tad inferior.

"Consider yourself lucky! I was almost caught by the Careers trying to get this stuff for me and Tati." He smiled complacently, for a moment. "Have you seen her? Tatianna, I mean?"

"The girl from one?" He nodded. "No, I haven't seen anyone." His shoulders drooped. Xi'an felt a bit of sympathy. She knew better, though.

"Hey, you want to climb up?" She jerked her thumb towards the tree. "I don't want to run into anyone."

He nodded in agreement and, after settling themselves in with some rope, she began prodding him for information.

"Did you hear any of what the Careers were saying to one another?"

"Only a bit. I kind of dozed off," he chuckled. Xi'an rolled her eyes, since no one could see. "They did talk about Tati, though. And that they should ration supplies. I don't think there's a lot this year."

"Is Tatianna one of their targets?" She asked.

"Yeah, I want to find her and warn her. I know it's stupid, but I really care about her, you know. It must suck, not having anyone volunteer for you. In a Career district, I mean."

"Tell me about it," Xi'an said shortly. She decided to turn to logistical matters. "Hey, do you want to take the first watch?"

"Sure, I'll wake you up in a few, kay?" She murmured her agreement, and laid down.

She made a mental note to kill Logan in the morning.

 _Sylven, 18 (D4m)_

Sylven felt disappointed. Sure he had secured the cornucopia and the other Careers (expect for that Tatianna girl), but he had lost his fucking district partner! On the first day, nonetheless.

Fucking a, Mariette.

Garnet and Chartreuse had tried to calm him down.

"Dude, you're on your own, that's bound to get you sponsors!"

"We still managed to get a ton of stuff from the cornucopia."

"We can like totally avenge her and stuff."

"Hey, it's one Career down!"

"At least you're not the only chick left," Garnet said as he jerked his thumb over at Carmen, who had single handedly set up camp.

"I'm killing you first for that," she called back. It was rare of her to speak so lightly, as Sylven had noted, but she and Garnet were pretty close. Close enough for people who would have to kill each other later, at least. They were the only pair in the Career pack, which frankly worried Sylven, but he pushed those thoughts aside.

"What do you guys want to do for dinner?" Chartreuse asked. They had joined Carmen at the fire. Garnet wasn't too far off, keeping watch.

"It's mostly dried meat and canned food," Carmen replied. Sylven thought she seemed somewhat off, since the arena. She nearly got herself killed at the bloodbath. Why?

"You know, my dad used to take me hunting as a kid," Chartreuse said. "I can get us some real meat."

"What's wrong with jerky?" Sylven asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"It's beneath me, Sylv."

"That's very good, Chartreuse," Carmen said as she handed everyone some beef jerky and crackers. They ate in silence.

After they had finished, there was the question regarding whether or not to hunt or sleep. Chartreuse and Sylven were more inclined to murder.

"We should hunt at night, most of the others are probably sleeping."

"We need to rest. What if someone like that girl from eight ambushed us. If were exhausted, they could probably take out a few of us. And we do not need to lose more Careers."

"Carmen's right, there are only four of us and it hasn't even been a day."

"C'mon guys, it's tradition! We can make it a game, like who can kill the most!"

"Chartreuse, buddy, that's kind of the point of The Hunger Games."

"Guys, we can't ignore tradition. Think of what the Capitol will say! Think of the sponsors..."

"Alright, I'll go," Garnet said. "Carmen?"

"Fine."

And the Careers began to hunt.

 _Tatianna 13, (D1f)_

Tatianna woke with a start. She brushed some leaves off of her and glanced around. It was early morning and still a bit cold.

Tati hadn't any supplies, so she had buried herself in some leaves. It was shelter enough, but more urgent matters were pressing her.

It hadn't been a day, and she was already feeling the effects of hunger and dehydration.

She walked along for a while, vaguely thinking of the lake, until she heard some voices in the grove up ahead.

"How long do you think the food will last?"

"I don't know, a week?"

"Garten what's up with you? You've been off since we got here."

Tati snuck up until she could see them. They were talking, away from their supplies. If she could just grab a pack without them noticing-

"You drop that right now or you get a knife in the chest," the girl said, Tati was fairly certain it was the strong girl from eight, as the two approached her.

She dropped the bag, panicked. "I'm sorry, I didn't-, I was just so hungry! Please don't kill me!" She was hyperventilating. They both towered over her, though the boy, Garten, seemed a bit spacey.

The girl studied her for a moment. "Aren't you the girl from one? What's your name?"

"Tatianna," she said. Reflexively, she asked. "What's yours?"

"Blythe," she replied. "And this is Garten."

"Look, please don't kill me! I'll leave right now. Or, um, I can tell you about the Careers!"

Blythe perked up at this. She lowered her knife, slightly. Tati tried to relax, slightly.

"What do you know?"

"The boy from my district, Chartreuse, he's stupid. Like, really, stupid. And pathetic. If you trapped him, you could probably get him to tell you anything." She was really rambling. And embellishing, since Chartreuse had been awful to her on the train ride to the Capitol.

"You want some water?" Blythe asked. Tati took this as a sign that she had passed. She nodded, and Garten tossed her a bottle. She drank greedily.

"Tati, I'm calling you Tati, you're not like the others, are you?" She nodded her head.

"Here's a knife. Do you want to work with us? Garten and I are trying to form a counter alliance with the other tributes."

Tati nodded her head.

Tributes' Status (bold text indicates POV)

D1m: Chartreuse, Alive. **D1f: Tatianna, Alive.**

D2m: Garnet, Alive. **D2f: Carmen, Alive.**

D3m: Jay, Dead. D3f: Courtney, Alive.

 **D4m: Sylven, Alive.** D4f: Mariette, Dead.

D5m: Carter, Dead. D5f: Lee, Alive.

 **D6m: Logan, Alive.** D6f: Sara, Alive.

D7m: Harry, Dead. D7f: Acadia, Alive.

D8m: Noah, Alive. **D8f: Blythe, Alive.**

D9m: Pete, Alive. **D9f: Xi'an, Alive.**

 **D10m: Garten, Alive.** D10f: Dead, Alive.

D11m: Vernon, Alive. D11f: Celia, Alive.

D12m: Marcus, Dead. D12f: Tara, Dead.

 **Author's Note: That concludes the third chapter! Now that this fanfic is properly underway, I can promise that it'll be a long one, especially since I only plan to release a few POVs at a time. I once again apologize for a lack of death. I'm sure the game makers are getting impatient…. As always, feedback is appreciated!**


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